


Shield, not Sword

by Caidh



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 21:43:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18432674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caidh/pseuds/Caidh
Summary: Two years before Noctis' journey, an incident occurred in Insomnia that was responsible for the scar on Gladios' face. This one-shot deals with this scene, of which not much more is known that it's made clear to Noctis what the difference is between the sword and the shield, the difference between him and Gladio.





	Shield, not Sword

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Schild, nicht Schwert](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/471650) by Caidh. 



It had happened so quickly that none of them really understood what happened until Ignis ran to get the car. He stopped at the roadside with screeching tires and didn't even wait until the doors were completely closed but stepped on the accelerator when the others were on board.

"Fuck, he's bleeding like a pig!" Noctis yelled from behind.

"Here!" Prompto tugged at the door handle, climbed with his knees on the passenger seat, tore his overshirt off and threw it to Noctis.

"Sit down and buckle up, Prompto," Ignis said and pulled into the other lane so quickly that Prompto was thrown against the door.

"Don't we have anything more important to do right now?" the blonde screamed with a panic in his voice that hurt Ignis' ears.

"Put it on it," it came from behind.

Ignis looked in the side mirror and changed the lane again. "I think it would be very recommendable if you didn't fly through the window during an emergency stop," he started quietly. Then he pressed the horn twice. "SO STRAP YOURSELF ON DAMN IT!"

"Do you have to scream like that?" came weakly from Gladio.

"Pressing, man," Noctis blurted. Then the prince's head and shoulder appeared between the front seats. "Can't you go any faster, Specs?"

Without losing sight of the road, Ignis grabbed Prompto's collar, because the younger one still was kneeling backward on the passenger seat, and pulled him around. "There's nothing you can do right now, so sit down, Prompto Argentum!"

Prompto squealed and slipped his butt onto the seat, while Ignis checked the rearview mirror and then tilted his head in Noctis' direction. "I'm going as fast as I can, Noct."

"That's not fast enough," Noctis squeezed out.

"Wouldn't an ambulance have been faster?" asked Prompto, who looked over his shoulder to Gladio. "That's a lot of blood."

"Given the fact that an emergency doctor takes an average of ten minutes," Ignis began. He interrupted himself and stepped on the brake so suddenly that the others were thrown forward.

From Gladio came a surprised "Hmpf" when he was pressed against the passenger’s seat, and Noctis and Prompto clung to everything that promised only a hint of a hold.

"Dude!" Noctis screamed furiously.

Ignis changed the lane and put the pedal to the metal, so the others dropped back this time. "As I said," continued Ignis as he cramped the steering wheel with both hands, "the ambulance takes ten minutes, we just need five."

"If you go on like this, we won't need a doctor anymore, we'll need a mortician," came from the prince.

Ignis twisted his eyes but said nothing.

"Guys", Gladio said. " That's nothing more than a scratch..."

"Bullshit", Noctis replied and turned his attention back to his bodyguard. "Shit."

"Noct!" barked Ignis with a warning undertone.

The prince took off his own jersey and climbed up to Gladio to press it onto the left side of his face because Promptos' jersey was already shimmering wet in the glow of the street lamps.

"Iggyyyyyyyy, you have to get off," Prompto shouted with wide-open eyes, pointing to the road to unnecessarily telling Ignis that they were approaching the exit in full speed - on the left lane, not on the right, which was quite full.

"I can see that," Ignis replied soundlessly and assessed whether he could make it into a gap between the other cars that opened in front of him. He put everything on one card, accelerated and squeezed the car through the gap into the exit lane, where he made an emergency stop because the ramp described a right turn from the road down.

Prompto screamed in panic and held on to the dashboard while there was rumbling in the back seat. "Ow, fuck," it came from Noctis, half buried under Gladio. He helped his friend back into a halfway upright sitting position and pressed his shirt onto the cut in Gladio's face. "God damn it, why didn't you do anything?" he screamed at the young Amicitia.

"What should he have done?" Prompto shouted and knelt back on the seat, while Ignis steered the car onto a three-lane road; one of Insomnia's main traffic arteries, and even at this time of night still heavily trafficked. But the hospital was on this boulevard.

"Beat the maniac back, something," Noctis muttered meanwhile. "Not only standing around and being cut open by a drunk!"

"Noct, Gladio has done what his job is," Ignis replied, hoping to calm down the situation, while at the same time looking for a chance to change lanes, turned on the signal and pulled over to the left. "He was protecting you," he added with a look in the rearview mirror.

"Hold this," Noctis said to Gladio, who tried to keep his head as still as possible. Noctis appeared between the seats again. "It's certainly not his job not to defend himself!"

"Did you see the knife in the hand of the man who came staggering towards you?" Ignis asked the prince with a side glance. "Not me, and not Gladio in time either, otherwise he would have withdrawn you and not thrown himself in front of you." He looked over his shoulder and gently pushed Noctis aside to see if there was a gap on the right. He tore at the wheel and just slipped between the cars. Behind them, a horn concert sounded. "Fuck it," mumbled Ignis and set the indicator to indicate his turn, for they had almost reached their destination.

"Guys", came again from Gladio, "shut up for once". He moaned and looked all pale. At least the part of his face that wasn't covered in blood.

Ignis braked in front of the emergency room, opened the door, got out of the car and ran around to support Gladio, who pushed him away, but then put his arm around Ignis' shoulders. Ignis felt the warm blood dripping on him as he commanded Prompto to open the door for them.

Noctis came to Gladio's other side. "The guy tried to attack me," Noctis said. "We should-"

"- FINALLY STOP WITH THIS STUPID SHIT," Gladio cried out, annoyed, and he stopped, panting. "I can't beat every man left and right just because you think he's looking at you weirdly. Then I'd have to break Ignis' nose every five minutes."

"Not funny," Ignis mumbled under his arm.

"But he escaped and-", Noctis complained.

"He was drunk and probably didn't have a clue what he was doing," Gladio stomped up. "Remember that one damned thing, I am your SHIELD, not your SWORD! I don't just attack an inhabitant of Insomnia, not even if he stumbles towards me with a knife. And now let me go in there with Iggy so we can find out if my eye is still good for something, and so I can finally puke after the ride."

"Not funny either", it came back from Ignis.

"No joke," Gladio muttered. "And you-", he pointed to Noctis, "you immediately take care of your best friend who looks as if he'd shit his pants several times in the last ten minutes".

With these powerful words, he left the speechless prince behind.


End file.
